March 27

Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a senior KLM captain with over 21,000 flight hours. After training as a pilot in the Royal Netherlands Air Force, he joined KLM in 1959. He rose to the rank of chief training captain, overseeing the airline's 747 program. On March 27, 1977, he attempted takeoff on a foggy runway at Los Rodeos Airport despite conflicting instructions. His aircraft collided with Pan Am Flight 1736 in the deadliest aviation accident in history. The disaster led to major changes in international aviation safety protocols.

Born in Budapest in 1900, Paul László studied architecture before emigrating to the United States in the late 1930s. He became renowned for merging European modernist principles with American aesthetic sensibilities in both residential and commercial projects. László's clients included Hollywood luminaries and prominent business figures, for whom he created luxurious yet functional spaces. Beyond architecture, he influenced furniture and retail design, pioneering integrated interior branding. His innovative approach garnered international recognition and featured in leading design publications. László's work remains influential in the study of mid-century modern architecture and design.

Born in 1924 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, Rudolf Vrba escaped from the Auschwitz concentration camp in April 1944 with fellow inmate Alfréd Wetzler. Their detailed report described the camp's gas chambers and prisoner selection processes, helping to expose the Holocaust to Allied governments. After the war, Vrba emigrated to the United Kingdom and earned a PhD in pharmacology from the University of British Columbia. He spent his career as a researcher and teacher, advocating for Holocaust remembrance and education. His memoir, I Cannot Forgive, offers a powerful testament to survival, moral responsibility, and the imperative to bear witness. Vrba's courage and testimony saved countless lives by prompting efforts to halt deportations of Hungarian Jews.

Irving R. Levine was a pioneering NBC News correspondent who became the first American broadcast journalist accredited in the Soviet Union. He reported on the Cold War with clarity and insight, bringing stories from Moscow to audiences back home. Levine's books on aviation, politics, and history solidified his reputation as a versatile author. His calm demeanor and firsthand interviews with world leaders made him a trusted voice in journalism. He taught and mentored a generation of reporters during his tenure with NBC. Levine's legacy endures in the standards of international news reporting he helped establish.